What every puppy has had before it leaves
Every puppy is examined by a veterinarian in the week before it goes home, and I hand you the record with the practice’s own details on it. Ring them and check it. I would rather you did.
Each puppy has had the vaccinations its age calls for and has been wormed on the schedule its age calls for, both written down with dates. Each one is microchipped and the chip is registered to you at handover, not to me with a promise to transfer it later.
What I guarantee, in writing
For one year from the date of birth, against a serious hereditary condition that materially affects the dog’s quality of life and is diagnosed by a licensed veterinarian. If that happens, you send me the diagnosing vet’s written report within thirty days. I may ask for a second opinion from a vet of my choosing, and I pay for that.
If the claim stands, you choose: a replacement puppy from a future litter, or the purchase price back. You are not asked to give back a dog you have lived with in order to claim. A guarantee that requires you to surrender the animal is not a guarantee, it is a deterrent.
What it does not cover, said plainly
It does not cover injury or accident. It does not cover infectious illness or parasites picked up after the puppy leaves. It does not cover anything caused or made worse by the dog’s care, diet, exercise or environment. It does not cover anything that appears after the year is up. Your veterinary bills are yours.
Those exclusions are not fine print I am hoping you skim. They are the difference between a guarantee I can actually honour and a promise that would collapse the first time it was tested.
The seventy two hour check
Take the puppy to your own vet within three days of collection. If that examination finds a health problem that was already there, tell me immediately and you can return the puppy for a full refund. This clause is in the agreement for your protection, and the shorter the window the more it protects you, because it settles quickly whether a problem came from here or arrived later.
What I do not claim
I hold no registry papers for these dogs. I have no hip, elbow, eye or cardiac scoring, and no genetic panel. I will not imply otherwise on this website or in an email, and if a certificate matters to you then you want a different breeder, not a reassuring sentence from me.
Getting the dog back
Separately from the guarantee, and for the whole life of the dog: if you cannot keep it, at any age and for any reason, it comes back here. Not to a shelter, not to a rescue, not passed on to a friend of a friend. That clause is in the agreement and it does not expire.